Book Hookup: Half-Light

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Mariana's Secret - an unpredictable, action-packed plot

Mariana’s Secret is book 2 in the Katori Chronicles. In it, Author A. D. Lombardo picks right up where book 1, The Half-Light, left off, with 15-year-old Prince Kai of Diu discovering and learning how to use his Katori powers as he approaches his 16^th birthday. He is focused on learning what happened when his mother died 12 years earlier. With Kendra’s help, he uses his powers to relive the memory. What he learns changes the course of his life. His skills, both magical and otherwise, continue to grow. One of those skills includes learning to be a spy. It creates secret connections and places him strategically to learn sensitive information. With each new discovery, he finds things are not as he has been told all his life. He struggles with anger and must learn to navigate his painful emotions as he continues to perform his royal duties.

When a mysterious stranger threatens the royal family in Diu during the Winter Festival accompanied by Landon Maxwell whom he’d known from childhood, it raises a whole new set of questions. Who is this man and how did he get past security? And why does he want to hurt the King’s family? Kai travels to Albey Estate to talk his aunt and uncle into coming to the safety of Diu, but while he is there, it comes under attack. Men equipped with hand cannons and other new and deadly weapons swarm the estate from the sea. Kai senses a Katori man on one of the ships and is sure it is the same stranger who threatened the palace.

While all this is going on, Kai’s prearranged marriage to Amelia is still moving forward. The problem is that his heart belongs to Rayna and Ameilia loves Tolan. Based on his visions, Kai is certain he meant to be with Rayna and tries to find a way to get out of the prearranged obligation that would make him King of Milnos. To compound things, he learns that when he and Rayna turn 17, as full Katoris, they will become sick and must travel to Katori for the Conhaspriga or risk losing their magical abilities altogether. As their birthdays draw near headaches start followed by fever. Responsibilities seem to make it impossible to get away, and the Katori elders do not want Kai to return to Katori for some reason. This places all kinds of hurdles and obstacles in their way.

Mariana’s Secret is full of more than just Mariana’s secret. With multiple plot threads woven into an unpredictable, action-packed plot with relatable characters, this original story easily earns 5-stars and comes highly recommended to epic fantasy readers. I do recommend reading the Half-Light first, but Mariana’s Secret will be an enjoyable read even if you don’t.

As BookHookup I am a longtime book reviewer and I received Mariana's Secret as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

About the Author

Angela Lombardo was born in Akron, Ohio, raised on a farm by her grandparents. Angela loves animals, the country life and is still a tomboy at heart. You can take her off the bobcat, but you’ll never get her to enjoy the city. She dabbled in playing the piano, sports and fishing.

Her love of comics started with Spiderman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. Being a Trekkie and a BMX rider, Angela did not have many girlfriends or time for makeup. She spent most of her time with her older brother crashing dirt bikes and three-wheelers. As a teenager, her grandmother sent her to Barbizon to teach her how to be a proper girl. She is fortunate she had a son.

Angela started writing The Half-Light in fall 2017 after a sleepless night gave her pause about the mother in a made-up story she created for her son. She spent the weekend solving the mystery of where the mother went.

https://www.adlombardo.com/

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Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Half-Light by A. D. Lomardo an action-packed, entertaining, and unpredictable read

I was introduced to author A. D. Lombardo writing when I reviewed her book Keegan’s Wrath, which happens to be book 5 in The Katori Chronicles. I fell in love with the characters, the world, the magic and how it all came together with action packed vivid clarity. When I finished the book, I decided to read the rest of the books in the series from the beginning. Not that I recommend reading the last book in a series first, but I have to admit, because I did, as I read The Half-Light, Book 1 in the Katori Chronicles with foreknowledge, it shined a light on the masterful job Lombardo does with placing subtle plot threads that will be pulled later to enhance and move the story along with continuity.

As the first book in the series, The Half-Light does a great job of introducing both characters and setting making the story come to life. Readers live and learn through the eyes of fourteen-year-old Prince Kai, the heir to the throne of Diu with a complicated history. He lost his mother to a dragon in the palace garden when he was young which live him with vague memories and nightmares. Most of life is spent in the palace with guards watching out for his safety until he learns how to sneak out.

Now that his father is remarried, he has half-siblings and a questionable stepmother who seems to have dark sway over his father. On a personal level, Kai was promised at birth to wed Princess Amelia of Diu and is slated to become King of the old Bangloo kingdom of Milnos far to the northwest of Diu when they marry. While Amelia is pretty and kind, she is more like a sister and another girl, a common girl, has captured his interest.

Along with the normal challenges of growing into manhood, and doing his best to step outside the confines of palace life, Kai learns he has Katori powers from two people who knew his mother. These powers are to be kept secret, but at times they are quite obvious. I’ll say no more about this aspect of the story to avoid spoilers, but these abilities add an innovative layer to the story and the world that keeps the pages turning.

This book is action-packed, easy to read, entertaining, and unpredictable and am happy to give it 5-stars. There is nothing I didn’t like, and I look forward to reading Mariana's Secret (The Katori Chronicles Book 2) next. I highly recommend this book to epic fantasy lovers. It’s a perfect choice for a YA audience and those who are older and enjoy the genre.

As Book Hookup, I am a long-time book reviewer and received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it.

Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.